Vacuum cleaner



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Filed Oct. 11, 1922 Patented Mar. 5, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. ALLEN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO B. F. STURTEVANT COMPANY, OF HYDE PARK, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

VACUUM CLEANER.

Application filed October 11, 1922. Serial No. 593,874.

1 another. It is the object of the present invention to provide vacuum cleaners of the above type with a flexible hose attachment or connection which shall be simple in constructlon, efiiclent 1n operation, and easily 7 and quickly attached to, and detached from,

the cleaner.

l/Vith this object in view the present invcntion consists in the devices and combination of devices hereinafter described and more particularly defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate what is now considered a preferred form of the present invention as embodied in a cleaner of the generally vertical type, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of such a cleaner with the hose connection in operative position, the nozzle and hose connection being shown in 1 vertical section; Fig. 2' is a bottom plan View of a portion of the cleaner with the hose conmotion in position; Fig. 3 is a front e1evation of a portion of the nozzle and hose connection; and Fig. 4 is a perspective on an enlarged scale of the. hose connection detached. Thecleaner illustrated in the drawings comprises the usual fan casing 5 with'the centrifugal fan 6 rotatably mounted therein and driven by the electric motor 7 which receives its current through the'flexible electric conductor 8 leading into the propelling handle 9. The cleaner is carried upon the rear supporting wheels 11 and the front rolls 12. A suction 'nozzle 14 projecting forwardly and downwardly from, and formed integrally with, the fan casing 5 is provided with the downwardly opening mouth 15 which communicates through the suction passage 16 with the eye or inlet opening 1'? i into'the fan casing. The depth of the nozzle,

that is, the dimension of the opening meas u'red in'the direction of movement of the cleaner, is substantially uniform throughout the entire width of the mouth, i. e. the dimension of the opening in the direction transverse to the direction of movement of the cleaner. To facilitate construction the bottom wall 18 of the suction passage 16 and the middle portion of the back wall 19 of the nozzle are formed as a curved plate adapted to be secured in position to close the bottom of the suction passage and back of the nozzle. The air-and dirt are discharged from the fan casing through the outlet 20 into a bag or other suitable dust separating device (not shown).

The cleaner thus far described is adapted for normal operation to clean a carpet or other floor covering by being propelled back and forth over the floor by the handle 9, the

mouth of the nozzle being maintained at the proper distance above the floor by the rolls 12, and the dust and dirt being drawn by the suction created by the fan into the mouth of the nozzle, through the suction passage, and into the fan casing from which it is discharged through the outlet 20.

When for example, it is desired to clean a piece of upholstered furniture, a flexible suction hose is employed, carrying at one end the suction nozzle and at the 0th r the connection shown in the perspective in ig. 4. This connection or converter, as it is often called, is adapted to be inserted in the mouth of the nozzle, and when in position forms a continuation of the suction passage 16, extending through the interior of the nozzle and out 'of' the nozzle mouth.

tension 26, the bore 27 of which opens into the trough-shaped body portion 21. This tubular extension is adapted to receive a flexible hose 28 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

When this connection is placed in position in the nozzle, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, it fills the mouth of the nozzle for about onethird of the width of the latter, that is, the

middle third. The front and back walls 22 and 23 engage with a close fit the inner sides of the front and back walls of the nozzle. The side walls or wings 25 at their edges fit closely against the walls of the nozzle and extend backwardly approximately to Where the suction passage 16 merges with the nozzle, the extremities 26 of the wings 25 being beveled to insure a better fit;

Since the front, back and side walls of the.

attachment fit closely against the inner surfaces of the walls of the nozzle, the suction is cut ofi from the mouth thereof. Instead, this suction is transmittedthrough the body of the attachment, the tubular extension, and the flexible hose to the suction nozzle at some Owing to the obliquity of the walls of the noz-' zle, the device will centre itself when the front of the cleaner is lowered, bringing the front, back, and side walls of the attachment into engagement with the walls of the nozzle in the propermanner. No screws or other means for securing the connection to the cleaner are required, the weight of the front of the cleaner holding the parts securely in position. If desired, the cleaner may be drawn about by the flexible hose, the hose connection and rear wheels 11 forming a threepoint support which maintains the cleaner upright. Preferably the connection or converter will be so formed that the contact with the floor shall be through'the rubber hose, as shown in Fig. 1, thus avoiding all possibility of scratching or otherwise damaging the floor surface.

When it is desired to remove the attachment to adapt the cleaner for normal operation, that is, for the cleaning of carpet or other floor surface, it is only necessary to raise the front of the cleaner'whn the hose connection will drop out.

It will be observed that in the present invention there areno parts which have to be removed entirely from the cleaner or adjusted hose to be attached. is intended to be more or less permanently to some new position in order to permitthe Since the attachmentv fixed to the end of the flexible hose, there is little chance that it can be lost or mislaid if not in use.

The hose attachment, it will be noted, is of relatively narrow width as compared with the mouth of the nozzle measured transversely to the direction of travel of the cleaner in normal operation. In the illustrated. embodiment of the present'invention the attachment is so proportioned that its interior provides substantially the same cross-sectional area for the air current as does the suction passage 16, of which it is virtually an extension or continuation. This is a feature of advantage inasmuch as it avoids the formation of a large chamber or lateral extensions in the suction line .where, owing to such increased area, the velocity of the airvcurrent would be greatly reduced and ordinary dirt and dust parried thereby would tend tosettle and col.-

ect.

While the present invention has been shown in what is now considered to be its preferred form and as adapted for use in a specific form of cleaner, it is to be understood that the form and dimensions of the attachment may bevaried and that the attachment may be used with cleaners of other types? Where in the claims a fan and fan casing are specified, these are to be construed as covering any other equivalent suction producing mechanism.

Having thus described the present invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a vacuum cleaner, the combination of a suctionproducing device and means for actuating the same, a suction nozzle having walls and a mouth of substantially uniform depth throughout its width in communication with said device, and removable means having a suction conduit therethrough, said means being of substantially less width than the width-of the nozzle mouth and closing a portion only thereof, and adapted to extend through said mouth and terminate in engagement with the inner faces of the walls of the nozzle to form a suction conduit through the nozzle and out of communication with the open portion ofthe mouth thereof.

2. In a vacuum cleaner the combination of a fan and fan casing, of a motor for driving the same, a suction nozzle communicating with the interior of the fan casing, said nozzle having outwardly flaring and downwardly extending walls terminating in a downwardly opening mouth of substantially uniform depth throughout its width, and a removable hose attachment provided with an air conduit 'therethrough and having a portion extending through the nozzle mouth intermediate the ends thereof and terminating in close contact with the inner faces of the outwardly flaring and downwardly extending walls of the nozzle, the attachment having provision outside the mouth of the nozzle for hose connection.

3. In a vacuum cleaner the combination of a fan and fan casing, of a motor for driving the fan, a suction nozzle having walls and a mouth of substantially uniform depth in communication with the interior of the fan casing and supporting the front end of the cleaner, and removable means for attaching supplemental devices, said means having a suction conduit therethrough and being of substantially less width than the mouth of the nozzle and extending through the middle portion only of the mouth thereof leaving the end portions of the mouth open, said means engaging the inner faces of the Walls center to t-he'periphery thereof, a nozzle com-- prising outwardly flaring and downwardly extending walls and a downwardly opening mouth all located beyond the periphery of the casing, the interior of the nozzle being incommunication with the suction passage, and a removable attachment of less width transversely of the cleaner than the width of the mouth of the nozzle and having a suction conduit therethrough, and extending through the mouth of the nozzle and engaging the inner faces of the walls thereof short of the suction passage to cut off communication of the end portions of the mouth of the nozzle with the suction passage.

5. An attachment for vacuum cleaner nozzles having a suction conduit there'through and comprising a body portion of less width transversely of the cleaner than the mouth of the nozzle and having front, back and side Walls all extending into the nozzle through the mouth thereof, the front and back walls engaging the front and back walls respectively of the nozzle adjacent its mouth, and the side walls having portions extending beyond the front and back Walls of the attachment, the edge of such portions engaging the walls of the nozzle to form a conduit through the nozzle out of communication with the end portions of the mouth, the attachment having provision for hose connection.

6. An attachment for vacuum cleaner nozzles having a suction conduit therethrough and comprising a body portion open at the top and with substantially vertical front and back walls to engage the inner faces of the front and back walls of the nozzle, and with side walls" projecting upwardly and backwardly beyond the front and back Walls with their edges adapted to engage the inner faces of the walls of the nozzle, and a tubular extension projecting forwardly at the bottom of the body portion.

7. An attachment for insertion in the mouth of a vacuum cleaner nozzle compris-' ing a substantially semi-cylindrical hollow body portion of short axial length relatively to its diameter, substantially semi-circular heads closing the ends of the body portion,

'the semi-cylindrical body portion being extended at substantially diametrically opposite points to form two tangential and parallel side walls, and a hollow tubular extension in one of the semi-circular heads in communication with the hollow interior of the body portion.

8. In a vacuum cleaner the combination of a fan and fan casing, of a motor for driving the fan, a suction nozzle having a substantially rectangular mouth the width of which is many times its depth, and a removable attachment for a flexible hose, the attachment having a suction conduit therethrough, and a substantially rectangular portion of greater width than depth, such portion extending into the nozzle through the mouth thereof to form an air passage out of communication with the open portions of the nozzle mouth.

GEORGE W. ALLEN. 

